2020
Launched in 1999 and updated regularly, Statewatch News includes our own reporting and writing as well as articles, announcements, documents and analyses from elsewhere on civil liberties, EU policies and state practices. You can receive updates in your inbox by signing up to our mailing list, or use an RSS feed to get instant alerts.
German naval deployments sit back and watch illegal deportations by the Greek authorities
In response to parliamentary questions, a German Defence Ministry official has admitted knowing that migrants and refugees have been pushed back to Turkey by the Greek authorities. Two incidents were observed by German naval vessels, but the fact that they did not intervene to halt the illegal deportations makes Germany equally culpable, says the MP who filed the questions. The admission comes after months of increased illegal deportations by Greece.
Belarus: we stand in solidarity with the people
A statement in support of those protesting in Belarus signed by a number of civil society organisations, including Statewatch.
Belarus: protests continue
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Minsk at the weekend to continue to protest against Alexander Lukashenko, the longstanding president who claimed victory in recent elections with 80% of the vote. Meanwhile, over 50,000 people in Lithuania formed a human chain to the Belarussian border in solidarity.
Schizophrenic agendas in the EU's external actions in Mali
An academic article explaining the results of research into the EU's security activities in Mali.
Press release: EU’s planned ‘deportation machine’: expensive, dangerous and lacking in transparency and accountability measures
Plans to increase the number of deportations from the EU will cost hundreds of millions of euros, create giant, opaque and unaccountable agencies and further undermine claims that the EU occupies the moral high ground in its treatment of migrants, argues a new report by the civil liberties organisation Statewatch.
Appeal for the respect of the fundamental rights of exiles at the Franco-Italian and other borders
Translation of an appeal circulated by Roya Citoyenne on 17 August 2020, concerning the violation of peoples' rights at the Franco-Italian border through denial of access to the asylum procedure, refoulements, lack of proper accommodation and no access to health care.
UK: Channel crossings - 100 groups demand safe and legal routes now
Civil society organisations, Windrush survivors, religious organisations and others are calling on the UK government to provide safe and legal routes to access the country as a way to halt the ongoing crossings of the Channel by people travelling in small boats. The death of 16-year-old boy, who drowned after trying to reach the UK, underscores the importance of the letter.
The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism: regulating expression online, without accountability?
An article in Slate looks at the workings of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), a global, informal body set up in 2017 by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube in response to government pressure to 'do something' about hate speech and extremist content online. Are its methods for regulating online speech transparent, accountable and under democratic control?
'Schrems II' fallout: talks begin on "an enhanced EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework"
Will the EU and USA find a new way to permit the transatlantic commercial transfer of personal data? On 10 August talks took place between the European Commission and the US Department of Commerce "to evaluate the potential for an enhanced EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework" following the invalidation of the former Privacy Shield by the Court of Justice (CJEU) in the 'Schrems II' case. Observers believe that a replacement is likely, but would also be struck down by the courts without significant reforms to the US legal system.
UK: Lawyers and legal academics call on UK government to drop extradition case against Julian Assange
Hundreds of lawyers, legal associations and legal academics have signed an open letter to the UK government calling on it to drop the extradition case against Julian Assange, while lawyers for the Wikileaks founder have condemned the decision of US prosecutors to file new charges against him.
Hungary: New emergency powers provide "a carte blanche mandate to rule by decree"
Changes to the legal framework governing states of emergency in Hungary, introduced with regard "states of danger" and "states of medical crisis", give the government wide-ranging powers but have "significantly weakened constitutional safeguards," warns a briefing by Amnesty International Hungary, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
UK: Loving a lie: The woman who found her fiance was an undercover police officer
One of the women deceived into a long-term relationship by an undercover police officer has waived her anonymity and, in an interview with The Scotsman, has revealed her experiences with a 'spycop' who went by the cover name Carlo Neri.
UK: New powers for police to stop suspected foreign agents at UK ports
The UK has further beefed up its counter-terrorism regime with the introduction new powers of detention and questioning at ports of entry when officials believe they are dealing with people "involved in hostile state activity."
Belarus: Heavy repression of post-election protests
Two people have died and over 250 have been injured during protests against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the long-standing dictator of Belarus who declared victory in recent elections after winning 80% of the vote.
Turkey: More than 1500 lawyers prosecuted and 605 held in pretrial detention since 2016 coup attempt
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative has published an update to its report on the situation following the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, following which the government unleashed a wave of repression.
Spain introduces new Guardia Civil unit, reinforcing the militarisation of the southern border
The Spanish interior ministry has made a major change in the structure of the Guardia Civil, merging existing units in charge of operations against irregular migration via the Atlantic, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea in a newly established ‘Borders and Maritime Police Command’ (Mando de Fronteras y Policía Marítima), a move that will further militarise Spain’s border control operations.
UK: "It is a fiction. There is no refugee crisis."
Ian Dunt, the editor of politics.co.uk, makes clear the problems with the approach of the British political and media establishment to the arrival of people who have travelled across the Channel in small, unseaworthy vessels.
The legal battle to hold the EU to account for Libya migrant abuses
An article in The New Humanitarian examines some of the ways in which civil rights activists have sought to hold the EU to account for its role in the abuse of migrants 'pulled back' or held in detention in Libya. A number of other cases, not mentioned in the article, are also ongoing.
UK: Legal action threatened over algorithm used to grade teenagers' exams
Digital rights organisation Foxglove is threatening to take legal action against Ofqual - the government body that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England - on the grounds that the algorithm being used to determine students' estimated A-Level results potentially violates the Data Protection Act. Due to the pandemic, students' final exam results are being estimated based on previous grades, but Foxglove argue that schools, rather than individuals students, are being assessed.
Border externalisation: Tunisia deploys "naval units, surveillance devices and search teams" to stop migrant departures
The Italian government claims to have succesfully pressured the Tunisian authorities to take renewed action against migrant departures from the coasts of the North African country, according to a report in InfoMigrants.
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